Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Memorial Day (one day late)

If you know me at all, you'll remember me talking of a memorial garden that displays any and all servicemen's flags for the Memorial Day Weekend. And I told you that when BOTH of the boys were in Scouts, we would begin participating in the removal of the flags on Memorial Day. Yesterday, there were 2,379 flags flown in memory of fallen servicemen. Some dating back to WWI, others as recent as Desert Storm.

This is last year's picture. They knew I was taking it.

And this is this year's picture. They had no clue that I took this one until I had them printed at Wal-mart after the ceremonies.

Here they are actually folding a flag. The flags being flown for the first time are folded military style, while all others are folded laundry style. Volunteers at the garden launder, repair and store the flags for next year.

Friday, May 12, 2006

I've signed up for some many -alongs and swaps that my head is spinning! One-Skein is just one of them, but I thought I'd post my answers to a questionairre here as well as by email.

1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)?a. Hmmm – most like my personality? This is a very hard question. I'm going to have to say that I'd be more like a basic wool in an ash-grey. I am shy and reserved until known, and then I can be a supporting agent, or I can pop out in high contrast.2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with?a. I love most any color except for Yellow. I'm drawn to the orange/pinks or blue/purple/green families.3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns?a. Yes, and I love them! Koigu, w/ its short repeats is my favorite (almost no pooling) for non-socks, with any of the sock yarns that stripe running a close second!4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns?a. I do a lot of gift-knitting, so I think of the recipient when choosing yarn. Babies and children get cotton or acrylic, Grown-up women get alpaca or wool.5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn?a. Center pull yarn cakes! I love the ball winder and I'll have a swift soon.6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them?a. I'm not opposed to organic yarns, but I've never set out to specifically use organic yarns. I think all yarns have their pros and cons in their ecological roles today.7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year?a. A pair of socks counts twice, right? OK, a pair of socks, a couple of spiral baby blankets, a square to contribute to another blanket, a Kiri Shawl, and a ton of fish.8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year?a. Yes, Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sisters-in-law, something for the kids and something for DH. DH is getting an ear-flap hat, son #1 is getting a hat from tiger sock yarn, the rest are unplanned.9. What is your favorite one skein project?a. My old time favorite is the garter washcloth. But I can also squeeze a small pair of socks from a single ball of yarn too!10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it?a. The husband will tell you I have too much, but I'd tell you not enough. I currently have enough for two sweaters and then many spare/one skeins.11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can neveruse it or part with it?a. I have yarns that I loved enough to buy, but they haven't told me what they want to be yet. I'm not scared of using any of it, just waiting for the right pattern!12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer?a. I do smaller projects for increased portability, and things in cotton or linen to counteract the humidity.13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)?a. Knitty (tm) Chat, Knitty (tm) Coffeeshop and a local Sit n Stitch14. Pal, please confirm for me your mailing address (some East Coast zip codes may have lost the beginning Zero value and appear as four digits, and some pals were in the process of moving when they registered).a. Not here, but in e-mail!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

FO!

More details tomorrow! OK, so its not really tomorrow, more like "next week" but still. Here are the details of this little beauty. This is really a swatch done in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. The pattern is a cable that makes Xs and Os and therefore I call it Hugs n Kisses. I want to do an entire blanket/throw in this pattern! I'm going to be on the lookout for something superwash and on a cone to minimize ends.

New Toys

Monday, April 03, 2006

Wherein April goes camping, with sock

The lovely Mr John Zink and his family's love of nature and conservation, and the Scouts, our boys got to go camping for a weekend without any other cubs. It was just us - on our own for entertainment and activities. And we survived!

This is Son#2 - the Webelo I, faking a passout. It was really warm this past weekend, and the boys were playing hard! The structure behind him is called The Landship, its a large, 3-story, structure that resembles a boat, it has a "steering" wheel and a flag mast - neither of which worked, mind you. The boys played Jack Sparrow for hours!

Later in the day we played water tag, this gave the boys a good chance to cool of and just play. Son #2, currently a Scout Buddy, can't wait to finish kindergarten to sign up as a Tiger.

There is a burn ban on in Oklahoma, so all food was cold prep only. Each family provided enough food for their family w/ the idea of sharing. We took for lunch turkey and cheese sandwiches, and for dinner we had taco salad. Breakfast was pop-tarts. Snacks were fresh fruit and granola bars.

While the boys did table activites (tying knots, drawing maps), I did this My first tow-up sock from Wendy's pattern.

and now I look like this: I don't think this photo shows how red or swollen I really am. Trust me when I say, "Buy new sunscreen EVERY YEAR!" The one I was using was 30, and just purchased in August, but I think it didn't work!

WTHeck?

I know - you are coming here looking for my Stash Flashing. But do not worry! It will happen! There were some unforseen circumstances that caused me to delay flashing. Number 1 - New camera w/ Macro is being aquired for the event! Number 2, and most important, DH will be out of town ALL WEEK! so I can really pull it all out and organize it!